The Missing Sophie Job!
by Rosabelle Meave Sterling
Summary: *Continuation Of Sorts to "The Back Story Job"* We all wondered what Sophie was doing travelling the World while Tara was with the team. Now... We know she's meeting up with her god-daughter and an old flame of her team's hitter, Cassara Holmes.
1. Chapter 1: Follow me through my life

Hey y'all! It's Cassie again. Well… I guess it's about time I let you in on some more of my life. You've seen me grow up and grow apart from one Eliot Spencer. Now, you all know my history and I'd like to keep you in my life? Care to join me on my wild ride through a life of grifting? Let's see how well you all keep up with me!


	2. Chapter 2

The warm breeze caresses my face and the hem of my skirt tickles my ankles. Standing there staring at the white stone marker I can't help but feel tears stream down my face. I hadn't heard a word, not a single word. I drop to my knees, cover my face with my hands, and sob openly.

"Jake, why couldn't you make him write to me? Why did you leave me? Why couldn't you two have just stayed? Why did I let you both leave me? Jake," I yell at the stone. "Jake, if you can hear me, I'm sorry for misleading you. I shouldn't have lead you on when I felt things for someone else. I'm sorry Jake, so sorry. If you could ever forgive me I would be ever grateful. I'm asking so much of you I know, but if you could help me along, I would be so happy."

I gaze at the stone marker as if waiting for a sign to tell me what to do. I look off into the distance and hear across the hills the ghostly ringing "Taps". I know that sitting there across from the marker in the first row, farthest to the left, would be a grieving family over at that site like there was here years ago. The tears flow down my face and a feel a familiar presence behind me, one that I hadn't felt since that day.

"You never told me about him," the presence says with a mild British accent. I smile through the tears and look back at the stone.

"His name is Commander Jacob 'Jake' Travers and, as you know he was my fiancé. He served with his best friend who was a good friend of mine in the past. Jake tried to bring us back together when dad and I moved. Jake moved in next door to us and stayed in contact with his friend. I cared about the both of them, sent Jake care packages with stuff in it for his friend. I never even got a letter back from his friend, not a word of thanks or even a word of condolences. Jake told me that if anything happened to him while they served together that he'd ask his friend should tell me what all happened and to take care of me. I haven't heard a thing in these past years, I don't even know if his friend is alive or not." I can't help but get choked up remembering my friend and my fiancé. The tears flow down my face readily again.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Cassie. I'm sorry that you haven't heard from him or the truth about your fiancés death. Cassie, I'm so sorry love. Is there anything I can do to help you?" she asks me, kneeling down beside me, her pencil skirt risking the grass stains.

"Oh Sophie, I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what to do about him," I sob leaning against her. She wraps her arms around me and holds me close letting me cry. I cry on her shoulder, drenching her blouse and allowing her skirt and nylons to get grass stains. I finally calm down and draw away from Sophie, drawing a handkerchief from my purse and using it to wipe my eyes.

"Cassie, come on dear we should be going now. Let's go get lunch and catch up on some stuff. How about that, do you like that idea?" Sophie asks me, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"I would love that Sophie, thank you," I reply, standing up. Sophie stands with me and we look at the graveyard with its white tombstones all in straight lines. Sophie lays her arm across my shoulders and gently nudges me to go. I bend down again and lay the white rose I had in my hand in front of the headstone. I stand up again, take Sophie's arm, and walk towards the exit of the cemetery. Looking at all of the headstones in their straight lines like a real military unit would be at all times, gives me a feeling of pride and sadness. I walk to my car, get in, start it and wait for Sophie. She pulls her car around and starts driving away. I follow her out of the cemetery parking lot and into the capital.

We stop for lunch at an Italian restaurant and get seated. We order and start talking about everything that's going on.

"Well, how's life traveling around Sophie?" I ask.

"It's enjoyable. I met these amazing people, well one of them I already knew. You remember me telling you about the man who followed after me after I 'acquired' the Monet? Well I'm working with him now." She replies taking a sip of her wine.

"Oh wow, I remember you telling me about him, especially the part where he shot you as you did the same to him. What made you want to work with him? And what about the others you're working with? And what exactly are you doing?"

"Well, you know I'm one of the best in my field of expertise so he asked me to work with him."

"I'm guessing he has no idea about me then, and considering you brought everything out of me he has the best person," I joke around, laughing the entire time. Sophie laughs with me and replies, "True, you could be two out of the five we need. She was my best friend and mentor; it's hard to believe I know. She understood and helped me do many of my jobs. I wouldn't have made it as far as I did without her help because we needed two people to pull it off. She was a gem your mother."

"Thank you Sophie. It means a lot to hear you say that. I want to ask you something though." Looking down at my silverware I continue in a quiet voice, "Do you think I'm as good as my mother and that she would be proud of me?"

Sophie gasps a bit, grabs my hand from across the table, and says to me, "Cassie your mother was proud of you until the day she left us both. You were her motivation for coming with me. She wanted the best for you. I know she didn't leave you in a stellar environment, but she left you because she knew you'd be killed if she brought you with us. You could be used as leverage against her and me. She was protecting you, even though it didn't seem like it at the time she really was. With a little more practice I think you could easily outshine her. Especially if you trained and beat the retrieval specialist I'm working with right now. He's supposed to be the best in the area and I trust him and you know I don't trust people that well."

"Thanks Sophie, it helps. Now tell me about the crew you're with," I say as our meal arrives. I dive right into my salad and wait for the details.

"Well, I told you about Nate, he's the brains of the whole crew. He comes up with the clients and cons. Our thief, Parker, is adorable. She doesn't really have social skills so I'm trying to help her with that. But she's amazing, I mean really she is. Our hacker is really good with computers and designs our technology we use. He can also hack any database or security system."

"Let me guess, his name is Alec Hardison, right?"

"Yes, I'm impressed, how did you know?"

"I've been dabbling a bit. I met him, only briefly though. We met at a technology seminar where he was finding out all the latest equipment. We were looking for the same thing, weaknesses in design and security. I helped him out and got him the blueprints for a lot of the items," I reply, smiling coyly and sipping my water.

"Well, that's good. Thank you for your help," Sophie replies.

"You're welcome as always. Now, that's three of four. Are you going to tell me about your retrieval specialist or not? Or is that position open and that's why you came to see me?"

"No, he's an amazing person Cassie, but I don't want to talk about him now. But I somehow have the feeling we'll need you. Are you still singing dear?" Sophie changes the subject rather quickly.

I take the hint and reply, "Yes I've been signed with a guy out of Memphis. But I haven't got a lot of music so, I've been thinking about traveling."

"That's why I came here. I want you to come traveling with me. I want to go around the world and I want to know what is going on with you. I never got to hear the whole story of you and I want to know all about you. I'm your guardian after all. Please Cassie come with me?"

"Ok, I'll come with you. What should I bring?" I ask her.

"Nothing just let your manager know you're going traveling to come up with more music, drop your car off with me and we'll head out. I just have one thing to do though." Sophie asks the waiter for the check and pays for it. I walk out after her into the parking lot. "Meet me here when you get up there. And then we'll head off on our trip through Europe." She hands me a piece of paper with an address and a name on it.

"Ok Sophie. I'll do as you wish," I reply to her. She walks to me and hugs me tightly. I walk to my car and head out towards Memphis to talk to my manager about a leave of absence to create more songs.


	3. Chapter 3

On the drive there I listen to recordings of my music. After hearing it a few times I turn on the radio and jam out to the music. I stop at a few rest areas and gas stations along the way to take breaks and refuel my car, mind, and body. After eight hours in the car I stop for the night to finish the six hours drive tomorrow. I pull into a hotel, check in, and head up to my room.

The hotel room was white and pristine with a freshly made bed and white linen sheets. I head down to the lobby where they were serving dinner and served myself a plate of chicken and dumplings with green beans. I asked the barman for a tequila sunrise and watched him mix it. He handed it to me and I handed him the money for it. I walk to a table unoccupied by anyone and sit down to eat my meal and have my liquor in peace. Lucky for me, no one knows who I am, yet. If Mitchell had his way, people would know me all around the globe. But I can't have that now can I? That would be a dream that will never come true because if people don't notice you, then they don't ask questions, and you don't have to say anything or get caught.

After finishing my meal I put the dishes in the receptacle and head back up to my room for some relaxation and bed. When I enter my room I notice that someone has been here and put a nice little thing of candy on the side table. I know better than to have something that was put in a room after I had already checked in. Thanks to Sophie, I was paranoid about a few things, things like this. I enjoy my time to myself and have a relaxing night and sleep well.

The next morning I checkout, pay the bill, and head out for the rest of my trip to Nashville. I re-listen to my instrumental recordings and tune into the radio listening to them a few times. When I finally reach Nashville I head to my apartment and make something home-made for lunch.

I head out to the studio and wonder what's going to happen. Walking into Kirkwood Studios I get the feeling that I'm only there so Mitchell can make money off of me. He doesn't care about the people he hires; he just wants a good reputation and money. The secretary waves at me and says, "Good afternoon Ms. Verant, Mr. Kirkwood is a little busy right now but I'm going to bet we can get you into a booth."

"Not necessary Beth. I'll just wait in practice room C. If you see Mr. Kirkwood could you tell him I'm there?" I reply walking down the hall.

"Yes ma'am. I'll let him know!" Beth yells after me.

I make my way into practice room C and sit at the piano. I start plucking out notes and start the piano accompaniment to one of the songs I was getting ready to record. I came up with melodies and lyrics for my songs while Mitchell had me record the piano part so his team could work up a band rendition of the song. The songs I came up with now are mostly my emotions from the past. Most of them are about Spencer. I let a tear fall down my cheek before I said to myself, _Self, you're not going to let another tear fall for that boy and what he did to you. You know you made up what was between you and you shouldn't have. Now let the past rest._

I finish my playing and hear clapping behind me.

"Well now, that was wonderful my dear. Did you add more Callie?" Mitchell asks me.

"Just a few little flourishes in places, but nothing major. I wanted to ask you for some time off. I'd like to travel around and come up with some more lyrics for you," I ask humbly.

"You just say the word and it's yours. But I'd like for you to record a couple of songs and do a duet before you leave," Mitchell counters. He smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up.

"Yes Mr. Kirkwood. I'll do that," I reply sheepishly.

"Wonderful, how much time would you like?" He asks me with sarcasm barely in his voice.

"A couple of months if you don't mind. I'll send you what I get and I'll conference you to give you a melody. I'll bring my guitar even though I don't really like that sound," I offer to sweeten the deal.

"All right then Ms. Verant. You have yourself two months off. I hope you have some creative genius," he says walking towards me. He kisses my forehead and says, "Your ideas are beautiful and make everyone feel what you feel."

"Thank you Mr. Kirkwood. I'll be in tomorrow to record. Are we still doing that one song per day deal or do you want me to do two songs tomorrow?" I ask him, standing from the piano bench.

"I'd like you to do one tomorrow and then just see how the other sounds. Then do the other song and listen to how the duet works. So I'd like you in here for three days." He replies cheerily.

"Yes sir Mr. Kirkwood. I'll be here," I reply a little stunned.

"Wonderful. See you tomorrow Calliope." He says as he walks away from my room.

I walk out to Beth and tell her that I'll see her tomorrow. I walk along the streets of Memphis and head to the Starbucks to get one of their Double Chocolaty Chip Frappacinos. I walk into the coffee shop to cries of "Hey there Callie!" "Where ya been gal?" "Hey Cal, ev'rythin' ok?" I reply to each question in turn and walk to the counter. Jesse was working the counter and knew immediately what I wanted. "Ms. Verant it'll be four dollars and thirty-two cents." She says to me.

"Here's a five and keep the change. Donate it to something if you have a charity," I respond to her statement.

"Thank you miss. It'll be up shortly," the little petite redhead says to me, getting everything she needs to make my beverage. I walk over to the edge of the bar and wait for Jesse to hand me my drink.

"Here you go miss," she says as she hands me the venti sized drink. "I added extra chocolate and a hint of mint for you."

I smile and say, "Thank ya kindly Jessebelle." With that done I walk out of the shop and to my car. Driving back to my apartment I smile and think that this town is so close to home for me. I have people who know me and enjoy being in my company. I'm not judged by people here and it's nice.

Arriving at the apartment I notice the cleanliness and emptiness of it all. I don't have that much furniture or plain artwork around but I make up for it in color on the walls. My kitchen is the room that has the most things and it's the room that has the most wear besides the second spare room which I gave hardwood floors and large mirrors. That room is the one I enjoy quite a lot. I dance in that room, with myself. I walk into the dance room and turn on the stereo. It was a recording of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty Waltz". I take off my shoes and leave them in the nearest corner so I can feel the floor underneath my feet. I dance to my heart's content to the song and those after it. I smile as I collapse on the floor.

I sit up and position myself into the splits. Smiling I get up from that and start doing some floor routines from my high school days. The summersaults, handsprings, cartwheels, handstands, and all came back easily from not doing them in a few months. I haven't had time to practice it all since I've been working with Kirkwood. Beaming as I finish my routine I sit on the floor and start to realize the tears welling in my eyes. Doing that routine makes me remember the two people who came and saw me compete. Every other girl had someone there, except me. Until I met two boys, one of them stayed with me for a long while. The other only came to a few but the bus rides to the competition and back were exquisite and fun.

Tears fall and I let them. I start thinking about all the emotions I went through and feel like writing them all down. I stand up, my knees shaking the entire time, and walk into the living room. Under the table next to the green couch lay my lyric notebook. It holds my lyrics that don't have a melody yet. I open to a blank page, grab the pen attached to the wire spine and start to right.

"Standin' in the back of this small little chapel I start thinking what all this has come too. My dreams are now reality And it's all thanks to you.

{As I look down to my future, I see you. As I walk down this aisle, I'm alive. Seeing you smile at me makes me feel real.}

All the white fades away and I can't hide from it anymore. I stand there watchin' all my dreams fall apart. Everything is gone and it's all my fault.

{ }

They hand me a folded flag and I can't cry. They watch me stand and hide my fears. They watch me fall as that last shot ring through and the notes hit my heart.

{ }

_Standin' in the back of this small little chapel I cry, knowing my dreams go with you."_

I read the words and automatically think back to Jake telling me that he'll never find anyone better than me and that all my dreams came true in him. Jake told me that he was the luckiest man in the world to be able to have the wonderful gem that Eliot threw away the chance to treasure. I hold the notebook to me as I start to sob.

"I miss them so much," I whisper to myself. I fall over and curl up on the soft couch cushions and cry myself to a sleepy state of mind. When tears could no longer flow from my eyes I sit up and head into the kitchen to make dinner for myself. I decide to make macaroni and cheese, the blue box kind.

I grab a bowl and but the cheesy mess into it. I grab my bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce and pour on a nice helping of it. Stirring in the sauce I notice the color go from yellow to orange and smile at it. Walking with my bowl to the counter in the middle of my kitchen I take a seat in one of the chairs surrounding it and eat the comfort food. It's times like these that wish I had a dog, a friend, or a man to help me finish off the box. I sigh after finishing my bowl and put the rest in the trash. I would save it, but I'll be leaving the country for two months or so. I start back to my sink and start cleaning my dishes. Washing them, drying them, and putting them away I get my kitchen cleaned and put to rights. After the cleaning spree, I head into my room and get ready for bed. I put on my tee-shirt and shorts to sleep in and head to my bathroom. As I go unpack my toiletries kit from my visit to Arlington, I pull out my toothbrush and tooth paste and start the process of the night. After brushing my teeth I head back into my room and hop into bed. I grab my sleep mask, slip it over my eyes, and just hope that the next three days will fly by.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well that trip was very enjoyable," I tell Sophie as we walk out of customs and into Heathrow airport's main lobby.

"I still can't believe that we semi-conned that man and that girl to give us a private plane ride," She says with a devilish grin crossing her face.

"I didn't mean to though that's the problem," I say innocently.

"Yes you did. That's why you brought that passport and your guitar. You had to know that people leaked your music and that people would know who you are."

"Fine. I had seen her in there with Jesse so I used that one passport. I brought all of them with me not knowing which one I should use. Happy now?" I ask with the same devilish grin.

Sophie laughs and I join in as we hail a cab outside the terminal. Sophie gives the driver the address to her loft and we drive through the teeming streets of London. Sophie points out all the different landmarks and shops. She tells me that we'll be going shopping later on in the week. I listen to her prattle on and on about London and its lovely places.

We reach her apartment building and she pays the driver. We get out and she heads into the building and I follow behind. We climb the stairs, walk down her hall, and she opens the door into her lavish London apartment. Suffering from jetlag we go into our rooms, which Sophie had to show me mine and crash on the beds.

I sleep for an ungodly amount of time. I stretch and get out of the bed. I tie my hair up in a ponytail and head out into her main area. I make my way into the kitchen and hear that Sophie is still sleeping. Quietly I pull out all the utensils, ingredients, and pans I'd need to make her breakfast. I smile as I crack the eggs into the skillet and dice the ham, green pepper, and onion for her omelet. She had apparently woken up and gone to the store to fetch all these things for me and I was incredibly grateful. The biscuits were the first things in the oven so I didn't burn the omelet. I pull out a tray from her cabinet and pull down plates for the both of us. I make myself an omelet and set everything up to serve Sophie breakfast in bed.

I open her door quietly and head over to her bed. Setting the tray down on her night stand, I walk over to the window and open the blinds. She squirms and says sleepily, "Whoever is waking me up this early needs to be shot."

I giggle and say, "Is that any way to treat your friend and personal chef?"

She rolls over and looks at me as I grab the tray and hand it to her. She smiles wide and takes the tray from me I love the fact that I can make the easiest things and make Sophie's face light up like a kid at Christmas. "Cassie this is wonderful. I haven't had your food in so long. It's been about what, three years since I've had the chance to sit and eat what you make? All I know is it's been too long."

She takes the tray and dives right in. I run back into the kitchen to grab the two cups of tea that I had let steep on the counter. I walk back in with the two cups and set one next to Sophie while I sit in the chair next to the bed. I smile at Sophie thinking it's so nice to have someone to cook for. She looks at me and says, "I have to keep you around. You're as good if not better than-"

She stops short and looks back down at her plate; which still has a bit left on it. The woman could eat when she wanted to. All the prim and properness aside she was normal and loved when someone took the extra effort to cook for her. She takes the cup of tea and sips it.

"From the way you're acting I'm going to bet you were about to say a certain name that you think I don't want to hear. And you'd be partially right about that. I don't want to hear the name but not because I'm mad, it's because I'm hurt and mad at myself," I say quietly, gazing into the amber liquid in the china cup.

"Come here and tell me what you want dear. Come here and cry if it comes down to it. You know you don't have to be someone else when you're with me," Sophie says in a motherly tone.

I walk over to her and sit on the bed with her bringing my plate with me so I could eat my omelet as well. She turns herself so she can watch my face, a recognizable grifter trick. Grifters read people and how better to read people then by their faces, vocal variety, and body language. She was going to read me without really doing it; just like I do every time I meet with Sophie. I can tell when she's had a fight, when she's sad, and when she just wants to be alone.

I breathe in deep and sigh. "Ok, here goes everything. When I was younger I lived in a small country city in Oklahoma. Mom left when I was six years old and only came back that one time. Dad had a whole complex after that and couldn't stand looking at me because I was the spitting image of mom. So he made me different and took his anger about mom out on me. That's why I have all of these scars."

I take my shirt off and let Sophie see what I mean. Lines, some faded, some bright white, and some dark purple, criss-cross all over my skin. There were five continuous lines that made circles, one around each wrist, one around each leg where it met at my hip, and one on my collarbone around to my back. Most of the lines have faded but there are still marks from where they once sat on my skin.

"To this day I still hate wearing short or no sleeved shirts," I say to her seeing the shock and horror on her face. I return my shirt to my torso and continue my story. "Dad made sure no one would ever find out what he was doing because he had me put on a leotard for gymnastics and scored the lines. Whenever they faded he scored them again. There were days I wished he would just slit my wrists a little deeper so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I didn't have anything to do with anyone in elementary school. People would call me the book-worm and teacher's pet because I would apply myself fully to my grades. I learned that if I made him proud I wouldn't get hurt so I pushed and pushed myself. I continued to push myself all throughout middle school and I made a couple of friends who stayed with me into high school. My old babysitter, Sasha, was the one person besides dad and myself who knew what dad was doing to me. She kept it a secret and she really cared about me. She would let me cry on her shoulder and she'd take care of me. But this whole time with school I noticed two boys, one was tall and dark, the other was tall and sweet. Their names were Eliot Spencer and Jake Travers. Once we hit high school I started to notice them both a little bit more, but they wouldn't notice me because I was a geek and they were both football players. I did gymnastics ever since I was little and joined the local team. We won every competition because I pushed myself in each area. I had so many medals that it sickened me that my father didn't care.

"That no one cared. That was, until sophomore year when I was assigned by my teacher to tutor the quarterback for the football team. I never paid attention to the different teams and different circles. I just knew I belonged in a few and I liked hanging out in two, the geeks and the chorus people. I met the quarterback in the library after school that day and it turned out to be Eliot. He tried to hit on me and I shut him down. I didn't have time for antics like that and I certainly wasn't going to be a toy for a jock. I knew the jocks reputations and I certainly wasn't going to have that because my father would have my ass if he ever knew. So he met with me and I tutored him every day after school before his football stuff and my gymnastics. After a few months I started to realize that if dad found out about him that my friendship would be finished. I stressed about it for a bit while tutoring Eliot, but I couldn't let him know that, because, if I let someone in… they would get hurt. And they would hate the person I was."

My eyes start to water but I hold back everything. I'm a grifter on both sides of my family. There's no way I'm crying about this now. "Something happened one day and I ended up going to Eliot's house. It was cold and he made me hot cocoa and we just sat there in his living room, no pressure, no nothing. It seemed like he was feeling like I did about our friendship, that we would be great friends. I knew he was with Aimee but they weren't really together. They would go out but then not talk to each other for weeks. I was the only one who was there steadily for Eliot. He even made me tutor him even though he was passing because he wanted to keep the good grades coming. And finally one day I couldn't take it anymore. We were the best of friends outside of school but he wouldn't talk to me inside. Finals came around and I got up the courage to ask him why he never talked to me. He then turned on me like my dad did whenever I angered him and I remembered him telling me that I would never have to be afraid of him. He knew I didn't like guys that I was shy and scared."A single tear slips down my cheek and I promise myself that no more would fall from my eyes. I had cried about it so many times all those years ago. Sophie notices the tear and wraps her arm around my shoulder. She rocks me back and forth and said, "Ok, you don't have to say anything else. I understand. Now shush. It's ok. I'm here, I'm here." We sit there for another hour while she just holds me and lets me calm down.

"Thanks Sophie," I say to her sleepily.

"I think this calls for a shopping trip," Sophie says. I look at her and notice the small tear stains on her cheeks.

"Sophie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," I say wiping my eyes.

"Don't you worry love, I'm fine. Now come on, let's go wash up and shop!" She says happily.

I smile and do as I'm told. When we both are dressed and Sophie has her make up on, we walk around London and head into the wonderful shops. We buy so many things that we look like pack mules carrying all the bags. We head back to her apartment and I say to her, "Sophie, will you let me tell you the rest? It'll be easier today than any other day. If I close the gate now, it'll be a long time before it opens again."

"All right dear," she says sitting on the couch and holding a box of tissues.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well that trip was very enjoyable," I tell Sophie as we walk out of customs and into Heathrow airport's main lobby.

"I still can't believe that we semi-conned that man and that girl to give us a private plane ride," She says with a devilish grin crossing her face.

"I didn't mean to though that's the problem," I say innocently.

"Yes you did. That's why you brought that passport and your guitar. You had to know that people leaked your music and that people would know who you are."

"Fine. I had seen her in there with Jesse so I used that one passport. I brought all of them with me not knowing which one I should use. Happy now?" I ask with the same devilish grin.

Sophie laughs and I join in as we hail a cab outside the terminal. Sophie gives the driver the address to her loft and we drive through the teeming streets of London. Sophie points out all the different landmarks and shops. She tells me that we'll be going shopping later on in the week. I listen to her prattle on and on about London and its lovely places.

We reach her apartment building and she pays the driver. We get out and she heads into the building and I follow behind. We climb the stairs, walk down her hall, and she opens the door into her lavish London apartment. Suffering from jetlag we go into our rooms, which Sophie had to show me mine and crash on the beds.

I sleep for an ungodly amount of time. I stretch and get out of the bed. I tie my hair up in a ponytail and head out into her main area. I make my way into the kitchen and hear that Sophie is still sleeping. Quietly I pull out all the utensils, ingredients, and pans I'd need to make her breakfast. I smile as I crack the eggs into the skillet and dice the ham, green pepper, and onion for her omelet. She had apparently woken up and gone to the store to fetch all these things for me and I was incredibly grateful. The biscuits were the first things in the oven so I didn't burn the omelet. I pull out a tray from her cabinet and pull down plates for the both of us. I make myself an omelet and set everything up to serve Sophie breakfast in bed.

I open her door quietly and head over to her bed. Setting the tray down on her night stand, I walk over to the window and open the blinds. She squirms and says sleepily, "Whoever is waking me up this early needs to be shot."

I giggle and say, "Is that any way to treat your friend and personal chef?"

She rolls over and looks at me as I grab the tray and hand it to her. She smiles wide and takes the tray from me I love the fact that I can make the easiest things and make Sophie's face light up like a kid at Christmas. "Cassie this is wonderful. I haven't had your food in so long. It's been about what, three years since I've had the chance to sit and eat what you make? All I know is it's been too long."

She takes the tray and dives right in. I run back into the kitchen to grab the two cups of tea that I had let steep on the counter. I walk back in with the two cups and set one next to Sophie while I sit in the chair next to the bed. I smile at Sophie thinking it's so nice to have someone to cook for. She looks at me and says, "I have to keep you around. You're as good if not better than-"

She stops short and looks back down at her plate; which still has a bit left on it. The woman could eat when she wanted to. All the prim and properness aside she was normal and loved when someone took the extra effort to cook for her. She takes the cup of tea and sips it.

"From the way you're acting I'm going to bet you were about to say a certain name that you think I don't want to hear. And you'd be partially right about that. I don't want to hear the name but not because I'm mad, it's because I'm hurt and mad at myself," I say quietly, gazing into the amber liquid in the china cup.

"Come here and tell me what you want dear. Come here and cry if it comes down to it. You know you don't have to be someone else when you're with me," Sophie says in a motherly tone.

I walk over to her and sit on the bed with her bringing my plate with me so I could eat my omelet as well. She turns herself so she can watch my face, a recognizable grifter trick. Grifters read people and how better to read people then by their faces, vocal variety, and body language. She was going to read me without really doing it; just like I do every time I meet with Sophie. I can tell when she's had a fight, when she's sad, and when she just wants to be alone.

I breathe in deep and sigh. "Ok, here goes everything. When I was younger I lived in a small country city in Kentucky. Mom left when I was six years old and only came back that one time. Dad had a whole complex after that and couldn't stand looking at me because I was the spitting image of mom. So he made me different and took his anger about mom out on me. That's why I have all of these scars."

I take my shirt off and let Sophie see what I mean. Lines, some faded, some bright white, and some dark purple, criss-cross all over my skin. There were five continuous lines that made circles, one around each wrist, one around each leg where it met at my hip, and one on my collarbone around to my back. Most of the lines have faded but there are still marks from where they once sat on my skin.

"To this day I still hate wearing short or no sleeved shirts," I say to her seeing the shock and horror on her face. I return my shirt to my torso and continue my story. "Dad made sure no one would ever find out what he was doing because he had me put on a leotard for gymnastics and scored the lines. Whenever they faded he scored them again. There were days I wished he would just slit my wrists a little deeper so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I didn't have anything to do with anyone in elementary school. People would call me the book-worm and teacher's pet because I would apply myself fully to my grades. I learned that if I made him proud I wouldn't get hurt so I pushed and pushed myself. I continued to push myself all throughout middle school and I made a couple of friends who stayed with me into high school. My old babysitter, Sasha, was the one person besides dad and myself who knew what dad was doing to me. She kept it a secret and she really cared about me. She would let me cry on her shoulder and she'd take care of me. But this whole time with school I noticed two boys, one was tall and dark, the other was tall and sweet. Their names were Eliot Spencer and Jake Travers. Once we hit high school I started to notice them both a little bit more, but they wouldn't notice me because I was a geek and they were both football players. I did gymnastics ever since I was little and joined the local team. We won every competition because I pushed myself in each area. I had so many medals that it sickened me that my father didn't care.

"That no one cared. That was, until sophomore year when I was assigned by my teacher to tutor the quarterback for the football team. I never paid attention to the different teams and different circles. I just knew I belonged in a few and I liked hanging out in two, the geeks and the chorus people. I met the quarterback in the library after school that day and it turned out to be Eliot. He tried to hit on me and I shut him down. I didn't have time for antics like that and I certainly wasn't going to be a toy for a jock. I knew the jocks reputations and I certainly wasn't going to have that because my father would have my ass if he ever knew. So he met with me and I tutored him every day after school before his football stuff and my gymnastics. After a few months I started to realize that if dad found out about him that my friendship would be finished. I stressed about it for a bit while tutoring Eliot, but I couldn't let him know that, because, if I let someone in… they would get hurt. And they would hate the person I was."

My eyes start to water but I hold back everything. I'm a grifter on both sides of my family. There's no way I'm crying about this now. "Something happened one day and I ended up going to Eliot's house. It was cold and he made me hot cocoa and we just sat there in his living room, no pressure, no nothing. It seemed like he was feeling like I did about our friendship, that we would be great friends. I knew he was with Aimee but they weren't really together. They would go out but then not talk to each other for weeks. I was the only one who was there steadily for Eliot. He even made me tutor him even though he was passing because he wanted to keep the good grades coming. And finally one day I couldn't take it anymore. We were the best of friends outside of school but he wouldn't talk to me inside. Finals came around and I got up the courage to ask him why he never talked to me. He then turned on me like my dad did whenever I angered him and I remembered him telling me that I would never have to be afraid of him. He knew I didn't like guys that I was shy and scared."A single tear slips down my cheek and I promise myself that no more would fall from my eyes. I had cried about it so many times all those years ago. Sophie notices the tear and wraps her arm around my shoulder. She rocks me back and forth and said, "Ok, you don't have to say anything else. I understand. Now shush. It's ok. I'm here, I'm here." We sit there for another hour while she just holds me and lets me calm down.

"Thanks Sophie," I say to her sleepily.

"I think this calls for a shopping trip," Sophie says. I look at her and notice the small tear stains on her cheeks.

"Sophie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," I say wiping my eyes.

"Don't you worry love, I'm fine. Now come on, let's go wash up and shop!" She says happily.

I smile and do as I'm told. When we both are dressed and Sophie has her make up on, we walk around London and head into the wonderful shops. We buy so many things that we look like pack mules carrying all the bags. We head back to her apartment and I say to her, "Sophie, will you let me tell you the rest? It'll be easier today than any other day. If I close the gate now, it'll be a long time before it opens again."

"All right dear," she says sitting on the couch and holding a box of tissues.


	6. Chapter 6

I sit next to her and start into my story again. "I didn't really trust Eliot again. But he tried to win it back. He came to all of my competitions like he did before, randomly brought me flowers, and even tried to get me to go to dinner with him. I finally said yes to dinner and he was so happy. I met him at the local 'Johnny Rockets' and saw Aimee there. The two of them were fighting and she was saying something about me. I watched from the window reading their lips. I could only get a few words but I knew she was upset about the time he was and had been spending with me. He said she didn't matter and her opinion was biased. I couldn't help but feel happy when I read that. Aimee was furious and he leaned in and kissed her to tell her that she was still his girl. She smiled and then left. I walked in and saw him leaning on the jukebox. I sat down in a booth and he came over to sit with me and I looked at him and said, 'Why am I here Spencer?' He replied 'I wanted to spend time with you. You've been avoiding me and I wanted to see you. You're my friend.'

"'Some friend you are. You don't talk to me in school; you don't really talk to me outside of school unless we need to be studying; and you only care about your reputation and if you can't tell your jock friends that you've been with me then you don't want them to see you with me.' He looked at me and asked, 'Cassie I'm sorry you feel that way. Can we please be friends again? I'll buy you a chocolate milk shake; I know they're your favorite.' I looked him in the eyes and said, 'No amount of chocolate, words, or the like can make me trust you fully again. You have to prove that I can trust your words.' And then he did that smile. That smile that would have every girl swoon at the sight of it. He then replied, 'I'll show you that you can trust me.' So of course I caved and her ordered two shakes and an order of fries.

"When the order got there we had a nice talk and I started to believe him again, but not entirely. We finished everything and he paid for the order and we just sat there and talked. That is, we talked until my dad came by and saw me with him. My father was drunk and he pulled me out of the restaurant. Eliot followed even though I told him to just let me go. He was stubborn and he followed. My father threw me to the ground and started pushing Eliot away, trying to make him leave. I got off the ground and fought my dad. He took out his switch blade and cut me from my hip to my collar bone and on my back from my hip to my shoulder. Eliot started to run towards me but my dad pulled me by my hair and said 'If you come any closer she'll get cut deeper.'

"I looked at Eliot and mouthed 'Stay there.' He stayed put and my father pulled my shirt away so I was left only in my bra and skirt and said, 'See this. She's not pretty and she never will be. Now run along boy and don't say a word to anyone.'

"I mouthed to Eliot 'Please do as he says.' He stayed put but said, 'I never thought she was pretty. I don't know where you get the conception that anyone would ever think she's pretty. I just felt sorry for her'. After saying that he left me there as my dad dragged me away. The next day I was sitting in the park, reading, and noticed Eliot playing with his team. One of them named Bryce walked over to me and yelled harsh, cruel, and terrible things at me about what happened the night before.

"I stood up, closed my book, and hit him across the face with it. I told him that he'd never know the hell I went through and that I envied him. I envied the fact that he would be able to live a perfect life while I'd be reminded every day of my hell on earth. Bryce hit me across the face hard enough to send me spinning a few feet. The next thing I knew Eliot was there trying to help me stand and a slapped his hand away. I told him some things that would have been true and others that wouldn't be.

"Eliot said he didn't tell them and Jake, his best friend came over and told me that Aimee had told them. I automatically thought Eliot had told Aimee and that she just told everyone else. I hugged Jake and looked at Eliot. 'I told you that you'd have to earn my trust back. And right now, you haven't. You've crushed it even more. You told Aimee about what happened to me and considering what you said to me that night, I don't know what to think anymore. Eliot, just, step away from me and I don't ever want to see your face again. Good Bye and good riddance.' I walked away with my book in hand and a few tears streaming down my face.

"That was the last time I ever spoke face to face with either of them again in that city. I called Eliot a few days later from a pay phone across from the Johnny Rockets and told him that I was leaving the city. I told him to tell Aimee that she won and that I hoped that they would be happy. Eliot tried to talk me into moving in with him but it wouldn't work. I wouldn't drag his family into my fight. So I said my final goodbye and hung up the phone. I ran down the side walk for a bit and looked back to see Eliot running out of the restaurant and looking down the street at me.

"I told you about Jake at Arlington, well, the best friend he served with-"

"Was Eliot. That's why you hurt so much. You never heard from him again." Sophie finishes with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Jake ended up moving in right next door to me and we had our relationship. I had my engagement ring that he bought me and I hid it from my dad. Jake went to boot camp right after high school graduation. That's when you and mom came back and dad went to prison. Then you started taking care of me and then left again. Mom's money got me living on my own and you got me through the martial arts academies. After that I did two years at a community college and got a degree. Jake came back and we set our wedding day. Then he was deployed. It was about two weeks after my twentieth birthday that we were going to get married, but instead I had a funeral. And well, you know the rest from Arlington. That's the life and times of Cassie Holmes. The sad and depressing truths of a life that no one should ever live."

Sophie had a tissue up to her nose and she sat there staring at me. "You lived through… all of that… and are the wonderful girl that is sitting in front of me? How do you remember all of that?"

"I remembered it because I wanted to. I wanted to do for my kids what my parents hadn't done for me. Granted, I might not have kids but, hey. I guess that's life. Well… I vote enough with the down and depressing stories and we go out on the town. I want to go and have some liquor and just let this all slip away. This way we don't have any more tension." I explain it to her the way I explain it to myself whenever I ask that question. There were times I wanted to forget everything, but I knew that wouldn't be an option. It's nice having someone who knows me fully. But Sophie doesn't yet have all of the details. I'm definitely not telling her about some of the things I did after college and before now. I'm certainly not letting in any other details because, he hadn't told them yet and I'm not going to hurt him. I promised myself that I wouldn't hurt him, not physically at least. Now, I could bash him in a few songs to let the anger go and besides, how would he ever know it's me singing or that the songs are about him. I lean over and hug Sophie tightly.

"You know you mean the world to me right?" Sophie says to me through a few sniffles.

"I know Sophie. Now come on, let's get ready for our night on the town." She lets go of me and we stand up to go and get ready. I walk into my room and pull out one of the many dresses Sophie bought me. The turquoise satin slides across my skin and feels smooth. The hem stops about halfway down my thigh and it hugs my legs. The dress fits my body and shows my shape well. I look in the mirror and notice that the scars don't really show up because they are so faded. I can't help thinking about the other scars I received from bullets and blades over my travels.

I walk back to the bed and pull out the strappy silver heels I bought myself to go with the dress. Slipping them on I smile to myself thinking, _wouldn't it be funny to have Spencer see you know? You looking the way you do and all._ I laugh a little and continue getting ready. I walk to the vanity and start putting on makeup to hide the tear stains and make me look more presentable. From another bag I pull out a black velvet box. I open it up and find the diamond necklace and earring set I bought from Cartier. I slip the necklace on and leave the earrings in the box for a special occasion.

I step into the living room and start fixing the sofa to look presentable. Sophie walks out with her hair pulled up and a red striped scarf in her hair. Her grey slacks and white shirt look so clean and crisp that I can't help but wonder if they were just delivered and never worn. She goes to the closet and grabs a long black coat and puts it on. She hands me a tan one so I don't get cold. We then walk out of the apartment and head to a close pub. We sit at the bar and look around at the people.

"Sophie, why are they staring at us?" I ask quietly.

"It's probably because they've never seen such beautiful women before," She replies as she smiles and waves at one of the men. I smile and look at the bartender and order a tequila sunrise while Sophie orders her usual.

"So, now you know me Sophie. So you have anything to ask me or do you want to say anything?" I ask her as our drinks arrive.

"Cassie," she says hesitantly. "Well, it's been bothering me for a bit yes. Why did you let your dad do what he did to you?"

I stop and think about my reasoning. "Well," I start after much thought. "I guess it's because I didn't want anything to happen to him. Mom left when I was young and I didn't want to be put in the foster system. I didn't want to be alone."

"Why didn't you call me or your mother and tell us what was going on?"

"I didn't know if I would ruin a con for mom and I didn't want to take her away from her trips. I never knew you until I met you the day she died. But I guess she needed to train you so she could come back and be with me. So I didn't call. You're gonna tell me I was silly and that I was the most important thing to my mother but I know she didn't want to stay in the house forever. I know she knew what dad was capable of and I know she wanted to take me with her. But she didn't want to endanger me by taking me around and working with you all."

"You know me pretty well Cassie. And I'm proud of you," she says grabbing my hand. Her accent fits right in here and makes me feel like the outsider. Oh wait, I am. I smile at her and her phone goes off.

"Parker, Parker relax and listen. Go to Nate's storage cupboard and you'll find a sexy little mini-dress and my emergency Jimmy Choo's." Sophie instructs the thief through the phone. "Shoes Parker! Didn't I teach you-" she says exasperatedly after a moment of silence. "All right listen now this is the important bit. Do you still have the Rosalind diamond that you stole in Perth?"

"Yes." I hear a voice say over the phone.

"Wear it. The diamond will speak for you. You won't have to say a word. This is the key to the grift you just have to trust the character. Say nothing. Trust the diamond," She says placidly.

"Wait she stole the Rosalind Diamond! I was staking it out-" I say to Sophie. She hushes me in time to hear Parker ask her not to tell Nate she called.

"I won't," Sophie responds calmly and motherly. She then hangs up the phone and looks at me saying, "Why did you talk while I'm on the phone? You don't want them investigating you do you?"

"No I don't but I can't help it and besides… it's just a voice. Parker won't know it's me, no one will! Hardison would have to bug their phones to record any voice and then run mine through a database of voices he's collected and I haven't been recorded into a database. I checked for recording devices on him at the seminar I met him at," I explain to her, sipping my drink with the utmost pleasure.

She sighs and pays the bartender after we finish our drinks. She then takes me to dinner at a wonderful little restaurant and we go and have fun on the town. By the time we came home our feet hurt and we had a wonderful time. We walked into our rooms, took off our makeup, and got ready for bed. After I put on my pajamas I slide into bed and am out in less than ten minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

I wake up in the morning to silence again and stay in my room reading. I know that if I start to move around I'll want to cook something and then Sophie will wake up. Parker's phone call has Sophie a little frazzled because she's not sure if any of them can fulfill the grift. I sit on my bed and read my book, taking up a chunk of time out of my day until I finally can't stand the knowing hunger in my stomach. I get off of my bed and see that it's evening. I work my way into the kitchen and make dinner for Sophie and me. I decide make an old southern traditional breakfast, biscuits and gravy, for our meal because that's the only thing that sounds any good. Heating the oven I grab the other can of biscuits and a roll of sausage out of the refrigerator and place the can on the counter. I grab a skillet and a large soup pot to start the sausage and the gravy. I take the roll of sausage and put it in the skillet to brown and cook. In the soup pot I melt butter and put in two cups of flour to make rue. I cook that for a little bit and then add milk, pepper, a touch of garlic and onion powder, and a few other ingredients to make the gravy. When the sausage finished cooking I add the meat and the drippings into the gravy to add more flavor. I crack open the can of biscuits, place them on a baking sheet, and set them in the oven to cook.

Sophie walks out of her room to the smell of breakfast for dinner. She heads to the cabinets to grab cups for tea. I grab plates for the food and heat the kettle. Sophie yawns and says, "Gosh the second day and I've got you already making meals for me. I'm serious about the whole keeping you around thing. So what are you making today?"

"Well, I'm making a traditional southern fav'rite for ya to try," I say embracing my southern lilt again. "It's biscuits an' gravy. I love makin' them for people when they stay. They always tell me they feel like they've missed out on livin' in the south an' the cookin'. Granted, this'll stick to your ribs for a good long time." I smile at her and see her beaming back at me.

"I haven't heard you talk like that for a long time dear," Sophie states brightly.

"I know. I decided that since I'm makin' a southern breakfast for ya I might as well get all the southern out a me that I can. All though it seems today like I'm makin' a traditional southern breakfast considerin' it's 'round five. You slept for a long time though we didn't get home until two. That was a lot of fun last night Sophie. I had a wonderful time."

"Cassie, you sound like Scarlett O'Hara from _Gone with the Wind," _she tells me through fits of laughter.

"Well I'm sorry I sound funny to you. This is how I normally sound so you can just hush. My momma taught me how to talk an' this was how she talked. This was one of the few things she left me," I say defensively to Sophie still laughing. "Well I'm glad I'm addin' years onto your life."

"Cassie I'm sorry," she replies still laughing. "It's just that I never heard your mother talk like that. I heard her with a touch of the southern but not all out like you are right now."

"That's 'cause she didn't. I went a little extreme just so I could getcha to laugh," I tell her as I turn off the kettle and pull the biscuits out of the oven. I grab two biscuits, cut them down the middle into two flat halves and place two halves on each plate. Then I ladle the sausage gravy over the biscuits and hand a plate to Sophie. I open a drawer, hand her a knife and fork, and she starts to eat. I pour the tea into the mugs and let it sit for a moment. Setting my plate down across from Sophie's I grab the mugs and set them on the counter where we sit and eat, then grab the milk out of the fridge. I add the milk to my tea and spoon in some sugar.

Sophie and I eat our dinner and I tell her the recipe for it. "Cassie you're going to have to teach me how to cook. Goodness gracious I'm going to gain so much weight from you feeding me."

I laugh at her as her phone goes off. "Sophie here what do you need?"

Silence follows as she listens to the person on the other side of the line. "So Hardison has gone over the top with his story. He's going to embellish and you know it." A shorter period of silence and then she says, "Well why can't you help him out? I mean surely there's something you can do." Another period of silence. "Sure they can, they just don't know how to yet. Hardison is trying to make it work out and they need you to help him. So just sit back and relax for a bit until you see things heat up and then get him out of the trouble he put himself in."

"All right, all right." I hear the other person almost growl. "Hey, thanks. Oh, and don't tell Nate I called."

"Sophie, are you gonna finish that sometime soon darlin' or do you want another helpin'? 'Cause I'd like to start cleanin' up the dishes. How's Italian sound for tomorrow? I make a good Chicken Parmesan." I inquire.

"I won't tell Nate anything," Sophie replies. She hangs up the phone and looks at me. "You did it again! Goodness girl you are going to get yourself into a heap of trouble the next time one of them calls. They can't know about you or else they'll want to use you and then you can't do what you want."

"Sophie, right now I want to have fun and take care of you. Is that so wrong?" I say to her putting everything away.

"Hey, I'd like a little more please. If I eat more I can't stay mad at you," she says pushing her plate towards me. Laughing I give her another biscuit and more gravy. She takes her plate back and eats more. I put the leftovers into separate containers so the biscuits won't get soggy. I clean the dishes while Sophie comes over and dries them.

"I was surprised yesterday to find you had all the pans I'd need to make you food. I'm very impressed Sophie."

She curtsies slightly and responds, "Thank you. I'm so glad you noticed and I cannot wait for the meal tonight."

I make more tea and we sit and read almost all night. We go to bed and first thing in the morning. I get up and look in the pantry to see if she has everything I need for dinner. She doesn't have a few things that are necessary. Sophie wakes up and she's ready for the day.

"Sophie would you like me to make the sauce or do you want to buy it?" I ask her from the kitchen.

"I'll go to the store and pick things up. Anything else you're missing?" She asks me getting up and grabbing her purse.

"Here's a list of what we're missing. I can't do chicken parmesan without chicken or parmesan. Better yet why don't we both go?"

She takes the list and we slide out of the apartment to the market. I sit around in the taxi and go back to thinking what I thought about all night since Sophie got that phone call. The person on the other side of the line had to be someone from her crew. Parker called last night and it was about Hardison. That only left Nate and Spencer. Nate wouldn't call Sophie so that meant, I had spoken when Eliot was on the phone. I talked like I did when I was younger and that means if Eliot heard me, he might have realized it was me. Oh my goodness this was bad, very bad. I had gone ahead and wondered what this day would be like, only to find out that it would be like this, not one of the scenarios I had gone over in my head oh no. It was something far worse. But, there's a possibility that he didn't hear me or recognize my voice. Oh please let that very slim possibility be the major one.

Sophie comes back with the groceries looking cheery. We start to drive back home and I tune out the conversation Sophie has with her phone. I was getting almost tired of all the phone calls because this was my time with Sophie. When she hangs up she looks paler than normal. "Sophie what's going on?" I ask concerned.

"Hardison is in trouble. And I don't know what to do. I can't do anything," the Brit slouches in the chair and I hug her.

"Sophie, you have to call Nate and tell him what's goin' on. Nate needs to help him Sophie, you're hours away and can't possibly help. I know it sounds like I'm bein' rude but listen to yourself. You wanna fly for hours just so you can help Hardison and then leave again? You won't be able to leave again and you know it. You said to me that you needed time off and that's why we're here. You said this to me last night. Please," I say to her.

"Fine, I'll call him." She pulls out her phone and can't dial the number. I take it away from her, find Nate's contact information, and hit send.

"Well hello Sophie," Nate says to me.

"Mr. Ford this is a friend of Sophie's," I say in an accent similar to Sophie's. "I'm calling to tell you that your friend-"

"Nate, Hardison has been captured by the Russians. They have a plan and they need him. That's all know." Sophie finishes after she steals the phone from my hand.

"What do you mean Sophie?" Nate questions her.

"Look, I don't know the details all I know is you have to help Hardison. Please Nate, you'll never find a better hacker." Sophie ends the phone call and lets the phone drop to the floor of the cab. I look at the driver who looks at me like I'm crazy and I say loudly, "What exactly are you looking at. We pay you to drive, not eavesdrop and judge. Now if you please, here is our stop."

Sophie and I get out of the taxi and she pays the driver. We walk up to her apartment and she immediately sits in one of the chairs. I get started washing the vegetables for dinner. I look at Sophie and notice her worried face. She wouldn't fully function with her worried face on.

"You did well Sophie. I'm proud of you. Now let's head to bed. You need some time to relax after this," I tell her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her up out of the chair. I walk her into her room and set her on the bed.

"Cassie, it's wrong of you to be taking care of me," she splutters.

"No, your friend is in danger and I'm going to make sure you're all right. Remember, I know the Russians."

"Cassie, you can't," Sophie gasps.

"I can and I will to make sure everything is true," I reply to her walking out the door. "I'll bring you tea so you can calm down." I walk out of her room and grab my phone. I dial a number I never thought I'd dial unless it was necessary.

"Ivan, da it's Anastasia," I say with a mild Russian accent. "Da, vat is it zat you are doing now? You should have shipped off my money months ago." I pause for the explanation. "You're getting me diamonds instead? Da, I vill take ze diamonds as payment. But zere had better be enough to cover my payment Ivan. If there isn't, I'll be coming for a visit. Now if you have a man who can clean ze diamonds I vant him unharmed. I might like to do business vith him later. Do ve understand each ozer? Good. Do svidaniya." I hang up the phone and make more tea. I'm lucky people are frightened of me or else that would have been very hard.

I prepare a tea tray with everything on it for Sophie and I to sit in her room, drink our tea, and hope for the best result possible. We wait for hours to no avail so we finally fall asleep and hope that tomorrow would bring news.

_**oOo**_

Sophie and I wait the entire day for a word of what happened to Hardison. I don't feel like cooking so we end up going out to eat for dinner at a nice restaurant. I put on a nice long black dress that hugs my figure and I wear the diamond and ruby jewelry I bought to other day. Sophie wears her white fur coat over her outfit and I wear my black one to match her. Her hair is all tied up in a bun while my mahogany locks hang in loose curls free from any clips. We head out to eat and as we start to look at the menu, Sophie's phone rings. She looks at the id and sees a name she thought she wouldn't see.

"Oh no, not you too," Sophie says to Nate coolly. He replies to her and she says, "Well have you been captured by Russians?" A moment of silence as he answers her. "Oh it worked out just fine without me, is that what you're saying?" She inquires of him. She waits for her answer as I listen intently from across the table. "Just say what?" she asks almost hopeful. Her face falls as she listens to him talk. Her sadness apparent on her face as she hangs up the phone. She drops in into her drink and I say, "Sophie what did you do that for?"

"Never mind dear, let's just order our food and be done with that call," she says calmly. She calls the waiter over and we order our food. She says nothing the entire meal and I take it as a sign not to say anything either. So our meal is quiet and I don't say anything to her for the rest of the night knowing she wouldn't get over what Nate had said to her for a while. Nate was her soft spot even though she wouldn't admit it.

I had taken her phone out of her drink and when we got back to the hotel I did something I would regret later. I take her phone and hook it up to another one I had lying around and transferred all of her information over including the number. I leave them both on the counter and head to my room for a good night's sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A few days pass a Sophie comes around and returns to normal. She thanks me for the phone and I return to cooking for her and teaching her how to cook. Granted, she still doesn't get the basics but at least she's trying. I convince her to call in a favor from a friend. She says she's waiting until it's absolutely necessary. I keep trying to tell her that once it's absolutely necessary then it'll be too late.

A couple more days pass and then one morning she wakes up earlier than I do and I hear her coming into my room. She's dressed in her red oriental style robe and has laid a turquoise one on my bed for me. I smile, get out of bed, and put it on. She even laid matching chopsticks for my hair on the vanity. I quickly tie half of my long hair into a bun with the chop sticks. On my vanity there was a little white bag with a bit of tissue paper stuffed in it. I take the tissue paper out and see that Sophie had gotten me a thing she knew I wanted; a memory removal cream. With the gift she has given me, I'll be free of most of my scars in a few months. Some of them won't go away, but most of them will and the some that won't vanish will lighten so that I can tan again!

"Thank you Sophie," I say excitedly as I follow her out into the main area. I head into the kitchen and get ready to start our breakfast. Sophie moves around and continues opening up the curtains. Suddenly there's a knock at the apartment door. Sophie looks at it and then moves to answer it. I see her sudden panic as she looks through the little spy hole and move to help her. She opens the door to reveal a brunette man in a tan coat with business attire on under it. This man I assume to be Nathan Ford.

"Who's dead?" She asks Nate in a panicked tone.

"No one, everybody's ok. Can I," he replies entreating entrance into the apartment. She starts into the mindless babble that she does whenever she's nervous about something. I stay in the kitchen keeping myself out of sight. Sophie told me that it would be best if none of her team saw me if they came looking.

"You-you-you-you scared the life out of me. I-I, listen you can't just show up here without any-"

"Listen you've got to come back," Nate interrupts her. Sophie stands there blank for a moment before replying, "Um, I thought you all were doing fine without me."

"Oh yeah, no-no, we're doin' fine but we kinda went from a quintet to what we are now, a quartet. It's like we still know how to play and we sound good but something is sounding a little-you know, wrong," he explains to her.

"Ah," Sophie says quietly. "Well I-I um, I really hope I'm not the violist because when I was little my mum had me take lessons and I was rubbish. Completely rubbish, can't play a note, not a single note-"

"Please come back," Nate asks her quietly. She stares at him star-struck for a little bit as he talks to her. "We need you."

"They need me, or you need me?" Sophie questions Nate. She watches him and silence lies thick in the air and I knew I didn't want to break this silence or any other silence between those two. Nate falters for an answer and instead reaches inside his coat and pulls out plane tickets. "I, uh, I'm meeting a new client tomorrow, ten a.m." He hands her the ticket and moves to leave. Sophie stands in her place befuddled by what just transpired between the two of them. Nate opens the apartment door, turns around to look at Sophie and says, "You'll be there right?"

Sophie stays with her back turned to him and doesn't answer his question. With no answer, he leaves. Closing the door behind him. I rush to Sophie and hug her tightly.

"Cassie dear, could you hand me my phone?" Sophie asks me.

"Sure Sophie," I reply quickly. Letting go of her I rush to her room and look on her vanity for her phone. Grabbing it I rush back to Sophie, who then takes it from me and makes a call. "Tara, this is Sophie. I need a favor from you," Sophie says into her cell phone. I pay no attention to the phone call after that, knowing full well that Sophie is asking Tara to take her place as the team's grifter.

Once she gets off the phone Sophie smiles at me and we go about our day. Things go a little wonky in the days after Nate's visitation. And I finally give up on bringing her back to normalcy. She snaps out of it in her own time and she starts showing me around again. We go around and she takes me to the Tower of London, to a show at the theater, and a guided tour around London. We go and have tea at a wonderful little shop and head back to the apartment. Still reeling from the day I say to her, "Sophie I'm so glad you didn't snap into a funny phase like you did last time."

"Cassie, I've been thinking about something," Sophie says to me quietly.

"I've said something wrong haven't I?" I ask her quickly. "I'm sorry Sophie I won't do it again."

"No, no, no Cassie. It's just, now you've seen London I think it's time for you to see France. I want to get out of here and I think it's best if we travel now."

"I've wanted to see the Louvre for a while. I never got to see it when I was in Paris that last time," I say to her, the words coming out like a fountain. Uncontrollable and unstoppable the words just flow out of my mouth. "I mean, I got to see the Arc de Triumph but not the Louvre. I also wouldn't mind seeing Versailles. I love the pictures of the palace from my history textbooks. I've said too much."

Sophie stares at me in shock and asks, "When were you in Paris?"

"About five years ago," I answer sheepishly.

She smiles at me and says, "You are a great grifter. Tell people the story but leave out little details to keep them interested. You learn well grasshopper."

I smile at her and she comes to hug me. "Come on Sophie, let's go pack. I want to leave as soon as we can." She smiles and I run into the room and start packing my necessary things again. Lucky for me and Sophie, we're rich so we can shop in every country and not worry. I bring my jewelry along with my guitar, night things, book, and a few clothes. I get online and book two tickets, first class, to Paris. We print out our tickets, grab our passports and head to Heathrow.

_**oOo**_

We arrive in Paris the next day and get a hotel room. Our first night we just crash and sleep from the flight. Our first day is spent shopping in Paris with all the latest fashions. Sophie picks out an outfit that says Classic Parisian Tourist, the red beret, navy blue and white striped shirt, and black slacks. I pick out more dresses, some slacks, blouses and shirts, and some miniskirts.

I pay for my outfits and change into a black miniskirt, v-neck navy blue blouse, a crochet sweater, and my new black heels. We head back to our hotel to drop our purchases off and head out into the city again. We stop at a café where we order a nice lunch and I realize I haven't sent Mr. Kirkwood anything yet. I pull out my laptop, which Sophie had beaten me too with hers, and my notebook. I start typing the lyrics I had come up with into my computer. Sophie starts a conversation with no one until I realize that it's her webcam.

"Look _we_ didn't get along when we first started," I hear Sophie say before I totally tune out her conversation and get back to my work. Someone comes up behind me and produces a rose, lays it down on the laptop, and asks me in French "Would you like to dance?"

I look at the strange man, look at Sophie who ushers me on, and say, "Oui." With that he pulls me delicately to my feel and I laugh with uneasiness and joy. A band starts playing music and people start dancing in the sidewalk. I look back as I get twirled around and see three people in Sophie's computer screen; Hardison, Parker, and one other person that I don't really recognize, but know it has to be Eliot. I smile, laugh and keep dancing with the random man to French music. I try my hardest to keep my face away from the camera and do very well at it.

When the song finishes I look out of the corner of my eye at Sophie whose screen suddenly goes dark, meaning her call had just ended. I walk back to her and she packs up her things. I save my lyrics and pack my laptop up as well. We head around Paris and into the Louvre. Sophie seems antsy so I ask her if we can leave and head somewhere else.

"Where do you want to go dear? Versailles?" She asks me in return.

"No I'm thinking a new country. I don't care where just someplace new. France is getting a little dull."

Sophie smiles at me and we head back to the hotel, ship our clothes back to my apartment in Memphis, and then head to a new country.

_**oOo**_

We arrive in the dry, arid country and Sophie immediately heads towards a hotel. We check in, settle into our room, and then head out shopping so we can abide by their customs. We cover ourselves fully and follow the laws set down by the government. After shopping we have dinner and then head to our room to sleep.

The next morning we wake up and prepare for the day. We go to a little café and order breakfast, and then we do a little bit of sightseeing. All the while Sophie teaches me little nuances for grifting. During our lunch Sophie and I pull out our laptops and work a little more.

"Cassie come here and sit next to me," Sophie requests. I move my chair as she opens a video chat with Tara.

"Hello Tara, how are you?" Sophie asks.

"You really want to know?" Tara replies stressed beyond belief.

"Hey Tara! Seems like you're in for the time of your life," I say to her.

"Cassie? Can that be you? Cassara Holmes I thought I wouldn't see you again."

"Well now you have. So are you enjoying the team?" I ask her.

"No, I'm quitting. I don't need this crap," Tara says as she paces back and forth.

"You're not quitting Tara," Sophie interjects.

"At least Eliot's professional, Hardison's warming up, and even Parker seems ok with me," the blonde grifter states.

"Parker showed feelings?" Sophie asks astounded.

"A feeling. Seemed like a human feeling not quite sure though. Wait where are you?"

"Uzbekistan," Sophie answers her.

"Aw I love Tashkent," Tara answers with almost jealousy.

"I know right? Especially in the spring time. Oh Tara you have to ask Nate about the time on the Russian border when he-"

"Ok let me tell you something. Nate Ford is arrogant, condescending, he just doesn't listen," Tara interrupts almost blowing her top.

"Ah, Nate's having trouble communicating," Sophie realizes. "I'm shocked," she adds with a hint of sarcasm.

"I really, really, do not need this," Tara states.

"Just give it some time Tara. You owe me," Sophie blatantly states.

Tara looks at Sophie and says, "Ok, yeah. He pulls this whole mystery man again and I'm going to kick his ass. The whole 'I'm sexy because I'm broken' thing only goes so far."

"I know right?" Sophie adds. "Wait what?" She adds realizing what Tara had just said.

"I gotta go," Tara says quickly before she shuts off the link.

"Well that was revealing. Are we sure we shouldn't have just sent me? Granted I might possibly kill Eliot or him me but at least you would have to worry about someone taking a fancy to Nate."

Sophie glares at me, shuts her laptop, takes it and walks away. I walk back to the hotel to get a conference with Mitchell. I get into the hotel, grab my guitar, and practice a few songs I have written while travelling. I then send Mitchell the lyrics I have typed and wait for a minute to call him and practice a few more times.

Suddenly my computer starts ringing like a telephone telling me that I have a video call waiting. I answer it and Mr. Kirkwood shows up in the little box on the screen. "Hello Mr. Kirkwood. I wanted to call you and show you what I've come up with so far. Do you have a few minutes to spare?"

"For you I have the day. Now did you send me lyrics so I can follow along?" He asks me like one would ask a dog for their toy.

"Yes sir. They should be in your inbox," I reply quietly.

"There they are," he says after a few seconds and clicking sounds. "Can you start with the one called 'Certain Things'?"

"Yes sir I can." I start playing the introduction to the song, letting every emotion flow out of me.

"Excuse me sir, I just happened to see that you're here alone and you ain't usually. Can I buy you a drink? Some of their best should help drownin' a memory. You can't look at her picture anymore. You can't listen to her favorite song. You don't wanna be listenin' to me now, but I'm the one who knows." I sing the song to its end to Mr. Kirkwood beaming at me through the webcam.

"That song is wonderful Callie. Now do you have the others ready to perform?"

"Of course I do Mr. Kirkwood," I reply starting the rest of my songs. As I finish each one he gives me input on it and as I finish the last one he tells me, "'Mistress' is a wonderful song. Now who is this based on?"

"It's based on my high school life Mr. Kirkwood," I reply as I set my guitar back into its hard case.

"Please dear call me Mitchell. Now, some of the lyricists here have written a few for you to look over. They came up with lyrics and some have melodies. I'll send them to you when they're all done."

"Thank you Mr. - Mitchell," I say proudly.

"Any time dear, now if you have any more ideas don't be afraid to call me. I'll get the composers to work on making your songs for the band. Have a nice travel," he states before the screen goes black. That man irritates me so much. I just wish that something would happen to him and then He couldn't take credit for people's music. He doesn't do that with me anymore since I started to get a following. The first night I performed at the "Saddle's and Spur's" he handed out a disc to everyone with the single "life in a Nightmare" on it so he would have people know my music and spread it.

Sophie comes in and I shut my laptop. "Are you still upset with me?" I ask her.

"I wasn't upset with you. I'm upset with myself because you're right. I am jealous that Tara thinks of him like that and I can't be there to stop it."

I look her and watch her take the purple fabric off her head and lay it on the table. "I'm going to the market to get something for us to have ok? Ring me if you think of something we need or that you want." She nods as I grab my purse and leave. The red fabric I use to cover my head drapes around me, "Sophie, why don't we leave and move to another country. Come on, let's pack up and head out. There's tension here and I wouldn't mind seeing Italy."

Sophie smiles, and hugs me. "Cassie, you're right. Let's go and have a good time. I think there's a flight leaving for Italy sometime today."

We go ahead and pack up and then head out to the airport after staying a couple of days in Uzbekistan. Some of the things I can say are I'm getting so much culture and my passport is getting quite a lot of pretty stamps. This trip is really fun with Sophie, but there's a part of me that hates seeing her so tense. A little voice inside my head keeps telling me that we should be going back to the States and meet Eliot again. But my heart keeps saying that would be a bad idea.


	9. Chapter 9

We head to Italy and have a good time. Once in our hotel I head out to see if I can find some nice eatery or a market to buy something to eat. My skirt flaps behind me as I walk down the crowded streets of Milan. People jostle me this way and that and I'm slightly taller than them. I finally find a market and walk around it, buying fresh fruits and vegetables.

"I never thought I'd see you here again," a voice says behind me.

"Ricky? Is that you?" I reply, turning around to see a tall man dressed in all black behind me holding a coral rose from one of the venders around. I walk to him and hug him tightly.

"Of course my dear it is me. How have you been since I've seen you last?" he asks with his deep voice rumbling his Italian accent, releasing me.

"I've been doing well. I've been travelling around. How about you? Is your arm all right?"

He chuckles at me and says, "It aches whenever the rain comes but, other than that… It's fine. I can still get by in life. The wife and kids help me around the house and they are succeeding in everything. Bella is making dinner if you'd care to join us tonight. They'd love to meet you Cassie and my wife would love to learn how to make the cakes you send us every Christmas."

"Thank you for the offer Ricky but I'm here in the market buying things so I can make dinner for my friend whom I'm traveling with," I reply to him sincerely.

"Well, you know where we live you are welcome to drop by anytime. And remember, we will always have Denmark," He says handing me the rose in his hand. He kisses my forehead and then walks away. I go about my business and pick up everything I need for our dinner. I walk around the city window shopping and then finally head back to our room.

Walking in the door I see Sophie sitting in a chair with her laptop in front of her, closed. I figured she made a call to the team and it just finished a few moments before I showed up. I'm glad I met up with Ricky because that could have been hairy if I had been here to hear it. I walk into the kitchen and start making our dinner.

"So are you enjoying Italy?" she asks me after a while of silence.

"Yes I am. I want to visit Rome and the Vatican, Naples and Pompeii, Venice and Pisa. I just want to be all over. There's so much art and history here," I say as I dice up the eggplant and tomatoes.

"So you wouldn't mind staying here longer," Sophie says to me somberly.

"Sophie if you want to leave all you have to say is 'Cassie, let's go' and I'll pack up and we'll head out. I promise Sophie."

"No-no-no, I don't want to leave yet. I'm just glad you're having a wonderful time here. I can't wait to take you out and around Venice. We'll take the gondola rides and have a wonderful time," Sophie says coming into the kitchen area. She stands and watches me as I make the meal. I boil the fresh pasta, make a pesto sauce from dried tomatoes, and cook the eggplant. Each step of the way I explain to Sophie what I do.

We eat our meal once I finish making it and talk about everything that's going on with the team.

"So, Parker doesn't show emotions. Do you have any idea why?" I ask Sophie before I take a bite of the pasta.

"We think it's because she was in foster care. She most likely didn't have a good experience with it and so she blocked it all out. She doesn't really talk about that," Sophie says playing with her food while she talks.

"Oh," I say quietly. "Uh, Sophie," I start to get the courage to talk but I can't ask her.

"What is it Cassie?" Sophie looks me in the eyes and sees the confusion, anxiety, and slight panic. "You can tell me anything. Now come on, what is it dear?"

I sigh, set my fork down, and meet her dark brown eyes with my tanzanite ones. "Um, I'm not totally sure how to ask this, but… Eliot-"

"What about him dear?" Sophie urges me on, trying to pull the question out of my mouth.

"Did he ever say anything about a girl from high school, uh, I mean-erm. Oh never mind," I say standing up to put my dish in the sink.

"You mean did he ever mention you," Sophie says calmly. Her words hang in the air between us like a fog. "My dear, the entire team is secretive. Hardison hasn't said much, Parker certainly hasn't, Nate probably won't but he might let people in, and me I'd have to sort through so many things to delve into my real self. So in answer to your question-"

"No. That's the answer to my question. Sophie," I say slowly turning around to face her. "Do you think he remembers me? And if he does, do you think he'll accept me or do you think he'll reject me and hate me for the rest of my life. I just want my friend back Sophie. I miss him."

"Oh Cassie, I don't know what to tell you. He hasn't mentioned you but, he remembers things very well. I'll bet he remembers you, and I'm not sure what he'll do I mean you two have a history of a strong friendship, in a way. But things will go like they're supposed to. But you have to remember to let him do what he needs to that will allow you entrance back in. If you don't, there's a possibility that you won't be able to enter back in."

I smile at her, hiding my tears and hurt from the woman. I knew I couldn't tell her what I felt for Eliot or else she'd start playing matchmaker. I wash the dishes and think back to everything that happened between Eliot and me. I left so that he wouldn't have to see me like he did that night and know that he couldn't do anything to help me. I wrote letters and sent him things, but I never got a single word back. Jake asked him to come back and tell me what happened to him. Jake also asked him to take care of me. But he hasn't done anything like that. I've never heard a single word spoken to me since I left and moved to Maryland.

I finish the dishes and retire to bed early. I sit there, reading my books and creating lyrics. Lucky for me, my heart hurts and I'm upset. Those two feelings are the best emotions to work with. I finally go to sleep and sleep for days. I only get up to get something to drink, eat, and to go to the bathroom for the first few days. I haven't slept this good in so long. After one more day of total sleep I wake up and start my morning right. I go out to the market and buy fresh rolls and other breakfast items. I run across Ricky again who slips me an envelope and then departs. I think nothing of it considering I'm used to having people slip me things in my line of work. I go back and set out breakfast for Sophie. Heading back into my room I grab my notebook and look through all the lyrics I had written. I reread them, change them, and strike some. Sophie comes out overjoyed that she has someone to be with again. She hugs me and the starts chattering away about what has been happening in her book. I listen but can't help but think why Ricardo handed me an envelope. We spend the day together and have fun on the town. We end our day with traditional Italian cuisine at an outdoor café. After having so much fun we head back to the room and head to bed. I hardly believe that I can sleep again after having slept for so long before now. I wake up the next morning later than normal. I put on my turquoise robe that Sophie gave me when we were in London and tie half of my hair up with the chopsticks again. I walk out of my room and hear Sophie talking to someone. I automatically think it is Tara calling to vent again and start to walk over to the computer.

"…Parking was a bloody nightmare," Sophie finishes enthusiastically.

"All right how do people find out about it," a voice says to Sophie. I quietly continue forward to the edge of the table Sophie sits at and listen in.

"Well the prospected buyers are invited by their black-market contacts. They show up, they verify the merchandise, and they make a sealed bid. Hey, shine an ultraviolet light on that card," Sophie instructs her teammates.

"Seriously, you just have one lyin' around?" The man says to someone else on his side. I lean in a little closer to see Sophie motion me to move back. I see Eliot and Hardison in the screen and know that whatever is going on cannot be good.

"The bidder's ID number and the time of the auction's encrypted on the card. The bidders write their bid on the back of the card, one number, no zeroes, and then they hand it to the seller in a sealed envelope. They leave town immediately. A week later if they win, they transfer the money, and the merchandise is couriered to them by messenger as soon as the heat's died down."

I stand there stunned as Hardison speaks and remember the envelope Ricky handed me. I gasp quietly and sneak back into my room, rummaging to find it. I look all over the floor, under my bed, in the covers, in my pocketbook, and in the dresser drawers not finding it anywhere. Finally my eyes land on my lyric book and I knew it had to be there. I open the book, shake it out on my bed, and watch the white envelope drift out from between the pages. I snatch it from the comforter and open it. Looking at the blank card I know it's an invitation to this market place. I stuff the card back into the envelope and notice another slip of paper in the envelope. I pull it out and read the scribble.

Cassie,

This invitation is one of many I hope you'll accept. Keep in touch and you'll get more invites when there's something I think you'll like.

Ciao amore mio bella.

Ricardo

Smiling I put the paper back in the envelope. I look at it and wonder if I should keep it and tell Sophie, or just destroy it now and not have to worry about the questions that would come with it. Sophie never really wanted me doing any of this and neither did my mother but, I guess it had to happen one of these days and all. I rip the envelope in half so no one could find the invite and take the item. I throw the pieces of shredded paper into the waste basket and head out into the living room again making my way into the kitchen. I start making breakfast as soon as I see that Sophie isn't talking to anyone on her laptop screen. She sits at the table, hands folded and head hung. Breakfast would be simple since I didn't want to make too much noise. I bring her a plate and as I walk away she looks up at me and says, "They don't know what they're getting into with this."

I smile at her and say, "Sophie, they'll be fine. Tara will keep them in line and that's all we can know. We don't know how they'll work it, or if Nate has gone a little crazy, or if Tara has actually made anything with the team. All we know is what they tell us, rather you. I'm not a part of this and I hope to god I never will be seeing all the drama, tension, and whatever else is there."

Sophie laughs and says, "Dear, there may be things there but we're a family almost. And we know we have each other's back. Now why don't we head to Venice and spend some time there."

I smile and head back to my room to change for the day ahead of us. We take a three and a half hour train ride from Milan to Venice with our bags next to us and my guitar resting against the wall under the window. I watch the countryside fly by and wait to reach Venice. When the train stops Sophie and I get out of the passenger car and head towards a hotel. We make our reservations and then head out on the town. Sophie has a continuous smile on her face as we walk along the sidewalk. She flags down a gondolier and we get in the boat. The beautiful man in the short sleeved shirt asks us where we want to go and I reply in Italian, "Please take us for a tour of the city. We'd like to know where to visit and to spend our time."

He smiles and says his name is Armando and he sets us on our tour. Armando asks us questions about ourselves and tells us about the city and its history. Sophie smiles at me as we listen to his accent flow out of his mouth and caress our ears like satin. He steers the gondola into a docking station and shows us the vendor market. Armando pushes away from the dock and sets on another course. We get to a big market square and he says, "This is the square where Carnevale takes place. It's a very big celebration and a lot of fun. It's too bad you weren't here a few months ago and then you could have taken part in the festivities."

I smile and reply, "It's too bad masquerade balls aren't held very often. I'd love to see one, especially one here in Venice. We should come back next year for Carnevale. I'll bet we'd have so much fun!"

Sophie laughs while Armando sets us out again. We head farther into the city and he explains everything to us. I ask him, "Isn't Venice the beginning scene in William Shakespeare's _Othello_?"

"Yes it is. I shouldn't be surprised that a lady like you is well versed in the classic arts. And your fiancée is well versed too?"

I gasp and look down at the ring on my finger. The solitaire diamond on the yellow gold band sits upon my finger like it has done for many years. It's been there so long I've forgotten that I wear it. The diamond glimmers in the sunlight and the beautiful etched cross on it lays a shadow in the stone. A tear wells in my eyes as I reply, "He was. He's no longer with me but he loved Shakespeare. I was the Juliet to his Paris."

"Oh I am sorry to hear that. But shouldn't he be Romeo?" Armando asks very confused.

"I never understood why he called himself Paris. And now, I'll never know," I reply, still fiddling with the ring. Sophie watches me and waits for something to happen. She finally gets sick of the silence and asks, "Where's the best place for a couple of girls to have a good time?"

Armando laughs and says, "I know a very good place. And it's around the right time too. You can grab a bite to eat, and then celebrate until the night is done."

We head to a nice eatery, pay Armando, and head inside. There we found people sitting at round tables, talking in Italian, and having a nice meal. A waiter seats us at a small round table, hands us menus, and takes our drink orders. The little candles sitting in small vases in the middle of the table glimmer faintly casting shadows of the flowers on the white linen table cloth. We translate the Italian and figure out what we want to eat. Sophie orders a nice lasagna slice while I order a dish called capellini pomodoro.

"Hey Sophie," I say to her grabbing her attention. "Well this entire trip was to get to know each other right? Well… I've given my story, what's yours? You don't have to tell me all of it. I'd just like to hear about the team, and my mom."

Sophie stirs her tea and finally reaches my eyes. "All right then Cassie. I'll start when I first met your mother. You were about ten years old when I met Claudia Beaudeen. She came to London and I was walking to school one morning when I saw her take down a group of thugs in an alley way. She saw me watching and she told me not to tell anyone. I didn't tell anyone and I saw her again with a group of people. She was negotiating something and I hid behind a bush to listen. I pieced together that these people were terrible people and I thought she might be a part of it. So I stayed behind the bush and waited until they all left. I met up with her and even though I was scared out of my mind I wanted to know what she was doing.

"She started spinning stories to me and I believed them. Then I remembered the conversation she had had earlier. She had said her name was Lorelei Busch to them and now she said her name was Claudia Beaudeen. I called her on it and she took a fancy to me. She then took me under her wing and we started working together. Your mother was a very sweet woman. She loved you to pieces and would always think of you on your birthday and every day."

I take a sip of my drink and eat my meal. "I already told you about the team so I don't know what else there is to tell." She stops talking and eats her lasagna. I smile at her and ask, "Did my mother ever try to come visit me?"

"She wanted to, but whenever she'd get time off, something would go wrong and she'd need to help someone else on their con. She worked with a team at one point. She was the team's grifter and hitter. I worked with her on that team and I watched her work and picked up pointers. That's how I got to be who I am today, and how I was able to train you. But, you didn't really need that training did you? Your mom started you out like that when you were really young. She told me she'd play games with you that would involve memory and finding the wrong thing. Your mother didn't want to leave you. She always said that."

"I understand Sophie. But, can you tell me a little more about the team? I want to know them well," I say to her. I look at the television monitor they have across the street and see news broadcast about Kiev and an inspector. I see the man I've known to be James Sterling rise out of the trunk of a car and hold up the Faberge egg that would be the marketplace item I could have gotten. Interpol actually asked that weasel to join them? How silly. They should be inviting Sophie's team.

"Well what do you want to know about them?" Sophie asks me.

"Oh, I hadn't really thought of that. I guess I don't need to know anything else about them," I say laughing.

We finish our meal and head out on the town for a good time. We shop and go dancing the night away; having a little fun, creating memories, and making funny stories to talk about later. Little did we know that soon our travels would be over.


	10. Chapter 10

After staying in Italy for another week we decide to head back home. I take Sophie back to my apartment in Memphis so she can see my life. When we reach the Italian airport I called Beth and told her to have someone pick me and a guest up at the airport tomorrow morning around ten. She says she will and I hang up. Sophie and I head to our flight and we wait for takeoff.

Our flight allowed me to sleep for a while and dream about something that happened a few years ago, one of the things I would never tell Sophie. It's a memory that I like to call a dream. The pictures flash through my head and tell me the story all over again.

I was in Belgrade, Serbia one year for a Zanzibar marketplace with my black market contact Ricardo. He was suave and cocky while I was dressed for a black and white ball. My long black dress fell to the floor and had a slit up to my middle thigh so I could move easily and if necessary reach the knife I had strapped onto my garter. The sweetheart neckline made me feel all feminine and fancy while the jewels I was wearing made me seem regal. I had just gotten back from placing my bid for the beautiful van Gogh painting, Starry Night, and wanted a drink.

I walked into the bar nearest me and saw a man that I had seen walking around the city. He was a well built and muscular fellow who seemed a little more than what he portrayed to the world. His brown hair highlighted with blonde fell almost to his shoulders and the wire-rimmed glasses he wore on his face seemed quite out of place on him. I couldn't help but smile and feel like having fun. I flipped my straight black hair behind me and told the bar tender to give the man a shot of the best whiskey he had. I paid the bar tender and he did as I asked. I walked over and sat next to the man. "So, how'd you know I'd like this?" He asked me straight.

"There's just something's a woman can tell about a man. Like I can tell that you're not all you appear to be," I reply. The bartender sets down a shot of whiskey in front of me and I drink it. "What? Have you never seen a woman drink before?"

"I've seen plenty of women drink, just never a lady take shots before," he says smiling.

"Well, now you have. You can say you've seen everything," I say laughing slightly. He laughs with me and we hit it off. After a few more hours and many more shots. I've held my liquor about as long as I can. He asks me if I'd like to stay with him and I replied sure. We went to his hotel room and we had a fun night, I think. I don't even really remember it all that well. But I sure remembered twenty-six shots of whiskey and a few glasses of tequila gets me pretty wild and a huge hangover in the morning.

"Cassie, wake up we're landing in Memphis," Sophie says to me shaking me gently. I wake up quickly remembering the dream and now piecing it together. _I slept with Eliot Spencer. Oh, shiny tomato I slept with Eliot Spencer. In Belgrade, in 2003. Oh dang. This is not going to end well if he EVER finds out. The first time we parted ways wasn't good but this? Makes it worse!_ My heart races from the knowledge just presented to me and I see Sophie watching me carefully. I calm down and reply to Sophie's confused look, "Bad dream. Very bad dream." As the plane touches down I smile and say, "Welcome to Memphis, Tennessee Sophie." We grab our overhead bags and head out of the plane. Once in the terminal we navigate through customs, and around to pick up our luggage while I try to find our ride to my apartment.

Sophie pulls our bags and my guitar off the baggage carousel and I run back to help her after finding Paul with the Suburban in front of the terminal. Paul comes and helps us drag our bags out to the car. Sophie looks at him and says, "Thank you for the assistance." Paul looks at her and says nothing.

"Don't worry; Paul just doesn't like new people. Paul this is Sophie. She's my good friend and you can trust me with her ok?" I say with my country voice.

"Yes Ms. Calliope. I'll trust her if you do," Paul says quietly.

"Wonderful. Can you take us to my apartment Paul?"

"Yes ma'am. I can," he says as he turns on the engine and drives out of the airport.

We arrive at my apartment and Paul grabs our bags as we ascend the stairs. I open the door to my open floor plan and my beautiful artwork. Paul places the bags on the side of the door closest to the couch. I grab my luggage and drag it into my room. I then take Sophie's bags and place them in the guest room which is between mine and my studio. She heads into her room and lies down on the bed.

I walk out to Paul and hand him money saying, "Thank you Paul. I'll call you if I need you all right?"

"Yes ma'am. If anything happens you call me. Mr. Kirkwood wants me to make sure you're safe at all times."

"I know Paul. Now, I'll call you when I need a ride or protection all right? Good. Now I'll see you later." Paul turns around and leaves. I shut and lock the door behind him and then head back to my room so I can sleep.

_**oOo**_

A few days pass by and Sophie starts to get antsy. She gets a phone call from Tara and says, "I hope you included Anastasia in your party." She waits while Tara replies and says, "Thanks Tara. I owe you." She then hangs up the phone and then listens to her voice messages, of which there are many, and all of them from Nate. Sophie looks at me and says, "Cassie we need to get to Boston. Do you know any way we can get there fast and have a get away?"

I smile and say, "Of course I do. Now just leave it up to me." I call my friend Jazzy who owns a private travel business to ask a favor.

"Hey Jazzy, can I ask you a huge favor?" I ask the man.

"You sure can. What is it little lady?" the gruff voice answers me jovially.

"Can you fly me and a friend of mine to Boston today? And then bring five extra people back?" I ask hopefully.

"Of course I can dearie. After all, you sang at my daughter's birthday so just come on over to the airfield and I'll get you up ASAP."

"Thanks Jazzy! You're wonderful!" I say to him and I hang up the phone. "Sophie, get ready. We're heading to Boston."

I call Paul and tell him I need the car. Paul pulls up about ten minutes later with the Suburban and Sophie and I hop into the back seat. I give Paul the address to the airfield and he drives quickly. We reach the airfield and are met by Kelly, Jazzy's eighteen year old daughter.

"He's out back waiting for you ma'am. I hope your travel goes smoothly," she says to us as we run to the helicopter. Jazzy stands in front of the cab of the chopper. He opens the door and helps Sophie and me inside. He gets into the pilot's seat at turns the chopper on. The blades start to rotate and pick up speed. Soon we're gaining altitude and heading north. During our flight she gets a call from Nate. She keeps trying to tell him that she can't hear him, but apparently he doesn't understand her or else he's incredibly drunk. "I can't hear you!" She yells into the phone. She hangs it up and says, "What a rubbish signal."

I call Tara and ask, "What exactly will I be doing?"

"Gun runner. Sophie didn't tell you?"

"No. She didn't. Let me guess you're with someone aren't you?" I ask quickly.

"How'd you guess? Well I gotta be going. I'll see you later Stasi," Tara says as she hangs up her phone. I smile and call Will in Boston. "Hey Will, you know my Mercury? Yeah can you bring it to the docks? I'll need it to get out." There's a silence while he thinks and tells me he can be there. "I just need you to drop it off outside the gate. I'll drive it in."

We reach Boston and Jazzy drops us off at the gate leading to the docks. I drive Sophie and I into the port, parking not very far away from the rendezvous. We board the Italian Ship "Il Falcone Maltese" and head towards the line of people waiting to be brought down into the depths of the ship. I use a scarf to cover my hair as we approach the people.

"Welcome, I'm Tony Kadjic," the man says to us.

"I am Anastasia Artemieva," I reply with my Russian accent.

"I'm Annie Kroy," Sophie says politely.

"Well with such known names I'm glad you came to see my goods in person. It's wonderful to meet you ladies," he says as he ushers us down the stairs. Sophie and I look around in the compartment where the weapons are being held. "They have got so many weapons here. Annie, look these grenades. So much destruction in one place."

"I know Stasi. Let's just keep ourselves together and we'll get what we want," Sophie says to me quietly.

We look at the merchandise and Sophie sees two of her companions walk down the stairs into our little area. Sophie gently nudges me aside out of view point and waits for the right moment to act.

"Find him, find the other one. Find him right away," Kadjic says to his goons. I see him draw a gun and point it at Nate. Sophie starts maneuvering her way to the other side so she can be behind Nate. "Bridge, take us out past the twelve mile mark. We have to dump a few things."

I feel the boat start to move as the bridge follows its commands. Kadjic answers his phone and says, "Yeah." Then a moment of silence before he responds, "You just kill him."

Kadjic's goons with guns come back and point the barrels at Nate. Kadjic then says, "Now, I guess I will show you how I deal with people who lie to me."

"No, no, no Tony, this won't do at all will it?" Sophie chimes in before Kadjic can fire his gun.

"Ms. Kroy this is of no concern to you. Thank you," he says sternly.

"Well it is my concern. You don't really think I'm going to do business with someone who starts blasting away in the middle of a meeting do you? You don't even know who this bloke works for. Listen I don't have a problem with you taking care of this, just, you know, wait 'til me and the other buyers are off the ship before you start getting messy. I don't wanna be charged as an accessory," Sophie explains to the trigger-happy salesman.

"Mr. Kadjic, there's something wrong with the engines," the bridge states over the intercom.

"Lock him up, lock him up now. Go," Kadjic yells at his goons motioning to Nate. "Hurry get out of here. Ms. Kroy, I apologize."

"Glad we understand each other," Sophie says calmly as she walks away from him. She comes around and gets me. We walk off to follow the goons that took Nate I suppose and keep quiet. I follow Sophie and she pushes me in front of her so we can get through a narrow hallway. I walk past an adjoining hallway and hear people down in it but pay no attention to it really. Then behind me I hear "Sophie?"

"Took you long enough. Come on," Sophie says to the people down the hallway. I keep my head down and continue walking forward. I worm my way down to a part where there seemed to be offices and hear the footsteps behind me. I lay my hand on the wall that held the door leading into the room where they were keeping Nate. I look at the guard on duty and seduce him to turn his back on Sophie and her friends. Without warning someone attacks the man and I step into the hallway next to me.

The door opens and Sophie's two friends head into the room. I walk to Sophie and whisper in her ear, "I'll be around. Look, I need to go now. You know the plan. Take the chopper I've got the car." I walk past her and down the hallway with someone following me. Walking I trace the route I took to bring us here and make a few adjustments on taking them back.

I walk past the guards at the stairs and head up to the deck. The sunlight splashes across my face and I see another guard ahead of me. I walk to him and say, "If you find Mr. Kadjic, please tell him Anastasia Artemieva vants to do business vith him. However I cannot stay so vill you please help me to my car? These heels vere not meant to be vorn on a ship." The guard helps me walk down the gangplank to my Mercury waiting near the ship. I call Tara and tell her where I'm parked. She replies with an ETA and I start the engine. Soon I see Tara rounding the corner of a shipping container and she runs full tilt towards me. She opens the door, slides in, and I start driving. We leave the shipyard and head towards Memphis. Tara rides with me the whole way and we have an interesting conversation the whole trip.

While at a rest stop I get a call from Sophie in the chopper. "Stasi, I just wanted to let you know, we're all safe apart from one. He stayed behind to let us get away unharmed. Thank you for everything Stasi. I owe you."

"You bet you do Sophie! And you know I'm going to call it in someday!" I say loudly so she can hear me. "Oh, Tara's safe and I'm taking her back with me. If you ever want to visit-"

"I know where to find you. Goodbye darling and Good Luck!"

I hang up the phone and say to myself, "You're now an established part of Sophie's life Cassie Holmes."


End file.
